Who knew there was such a thing as cozy fantasy? When Wendell's Stepmother sends fairy assassins to attack him during one of his lectures, he and Emily realize it is not safe and they leave to the Alps. Emily's niece and boss also join them on this endeavor to try and find an explorer who last was able to get to Wendell's home. This next adventure for Emily and Wendell is very thrilling and fast paced!

Overall I give it a 3.5. I enjoyed this book! It definitely was more interesting to me than the first book. This is a rarity with sequels! I think the storyline and pacing made this story much more interesting. I enjoyed the characters interactions and their storylines. The faeries are definitely more scary in this one. I am really liking Emily's character progression. I am interested to see how things plan out in the third novel!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for an eArc in exchange for my honest review.

𝒞𝑜𝓏𝓎 𝐹𝒶𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓈𝓎 𝒶𝓉 𝒾𝓉𝓈 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓉!

𝙀𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙚'𝙨 𝙀𝙣𝙘𝙮𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙖𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖 𝙤𝙛 𝙁𝙖𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨
𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 1 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨
by Heather Fawcett
352 pages
published October 24, 2023
@delreybooks

Cozy fantasy has made my year go by more easily as I am able to escape to other worlds where problems are created and solved more magically than in the real world.

Emily Wilde is a character you must meet if you enjoy cozy magical worlds. Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party—or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people. She is one of my favorite characters of all time as I do believe I share many of her quirks and characteristics. It is fun when a reader can relate to a MC and have a connection.

Thank you @netgalley, publisher & author for the opportunity to read both titles in exchange for my honest review.
Emily travels to destinations to research the faerie for her academic work and to write her encyclopaedia. Her colleague, Wendell Bambleby, dashing coworker, I might add, inevitably arrives to assist or become a thorn in Emily's side even as she inevitably develops fond feelings for him.

𝙀𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙚'𝙨 𝙈𝙖𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 2 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 will be released January 16, 2024

This is a 5 star cozy for me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Is this it for Emily and Wendell? Only 2 books?!? Please say it's not so.

Thank you @netgalley @delreybooks & the author for the opportunity to read this and save myself from a terrible reading slump of darkness in exchange for my honest review. These books will honestly brighten your day, week, month & year. Cozy magic!
#currentlyreading #fantasy #cozyfantasy #faeries #bookreviews #bookstagram

Heather Fawcett has done it again! Emily Wilde’s Map to the Otherlands is a fantastic, delightful sequel full of adorable romantic moments, creepy faeries and magic, ridiculous shenanigans, and the right balance of excitement and danger to keep the story moving. From the characters (new and old) to the plot and pacing, Heather Fawcett proves she’s a master at writing cozy and fun fantasy.

As was the case for book one, I adore Emily’s narrative voice and her stubborn determination. Wendell only becomes more endearing with his plight in this book. Their relationship continues to provide the right amount of tension and I love how it ties into the bigger plot of the story. The new characters are a great addition to the team, and I love how the characters from book one continue to play a part in Emily and Wendell’s adventures.

Overall, this is a brilliant sequel to a much-loved cozy fantasy story, and I cannot wait to read book three!

While this series is considered adult fantasy, the content is appropriate for teen readers who may be interested.

I really enjoyed the second installment of Emily Wilde's adventures! This book reads like a cozy mystery, and the inclusion of Emily's niece added another fun relationship dynamic to the story!

Of course, I loved how Emily and Wendell's relationship progressed through this book. They're an adorably hilarious duo, and I'm excited to see what comes next for them!

Emily and Wendell have returned for another adventure. After a group of Fae attack Wendell during one of his lectures, the mission to find Wendell's door is kicked into overdrive. They are determined to find the nexus that a long-missing scholar wrote about and they travel to the Alps to her last known location. The two are joined by Emily's niece and their boss who has realized that Wendell is folk.
Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands was just as entertaining as the first book. It's a great cozy fantasy that brings back all the feelings from the previous book.

Rating: Absolutely Loved It, 5 stars

The first book was one of my favorite books of the year, and this one did not disappoint! I will say that I think I liked it slightly less, but I'm so excited to see where this story goes.

We pick up not too long after the events of the first novel. Emily and Wendell are back at Cambridge when Wendell's stepmother starts to send assassin's after him. It becomes imperative that they find his door as soon as possible, and so begins the journey to the Austrian Alps. Emily is concurrently working on a project to map the faerie realms and to prove the existence of a nexus. Escapades ensue.

I had a blast with this one. I loved that Wendell and Emily were established as friends (and possibly more). I thought that the adventures were wonderful, and I appreciated the addition of other members to their research party. I loved the exploration of different kinds of fae in this part of the world, and some of Wendell's backstory.

I think that the piece that made this less of a favorite than the first book is that there was less focus on Emily's relationships with other people. I loved the interactions between herself and the locals in the first book and the building of friendships. I felt like that really fleshed her out as a character and we had more time to sit and watch her grow as a person. This book was much more fast-paced for the majority, and we didn't really get to see her interact much with people outside her party. We did get to see some of the relationship building with Rose and Ariadne, but it very much was secondary to the main focus of exploring, research, and searching for the door. I had a great time with all those pieces, but I hope that we get a little more time for introspection with Emily in the last novel.

Overall, I think if you enjoyed the first book, this will be a worthy follow-up. I had a great time with it, and I can't wait to see where things go in the last book, considering where we left everything in this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands releases on January 16, 2024.

The perfect follow up to the first book of the series. The first one was good, but I LOOOVED this one. Reading the development of the characters- both individually and the relationships was well done. Something about the way you are pulled in for Emily and Wendell’s story had me eager to turn each page. Would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoyed the first one!

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Emily Wilde’s second adventure - her map of the Otherlands - was even better than her first adventure. The pacing was much better, with only a minor slowing a third to a half of the way through. I enjoyed the first book, but I loved the second one.

I think my favorite part of the story was actually the ending, which, of course, I can’t talk about. It showed so much character and story growth and surprised me.

But there were other aspects I enjoyed as well. The action was thrilling and kept the pace fast. The fae in this world is fierce and unforgiving. They will kill humans as just a manner of being, not because they did anything wrong, and since most of the story takes place near a nexus and inside the fae lands, you can imagine how high the stakes are.

I also love how the writing keeps true to the times - a more formal style. It can be a bit off-putting at first, but I soon grew used to it, and it flew just as fast as a book written in a more contemporary style. Readers who love stories about fae, an intelligent writing style that stays true to the setting, and lots of edge-of-your-seat thrills will love this series by Heather Fawcett.

In this second book of the series, professor Emily Wilde is on another academic research adventure but with an ulterior motive - - to help save Wendell Bambleby. After faeries run amok on her campus, she is off to the Austrian Alps in search for a nexus for Wendell as well as to find a researcher that went missing many decades ago. Will Emily’s no nonsense methods come through once again?

This enjoyable novel was again delivered in the format of journal entries. The insight that Emily provides as she records the days’/weeks’ events truly adds to the lovability of her character and also to some of the mystery of the story’s threads. The story itself was a little slow going at first but once the crew arrived in the Alps it started moving along. This one has another ending that leaves you ready for the next installment. 4 stars.

Review based on a digital Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by Random House Publishing Group/Del Rey and NetGalley. Thank you!

Wendell's stepmother sends fairy assassins to Cambridge to kill him in incredibly magical ways. The couple, a fellow Cambridge professor and Emily's niece, leave the university for the Austrian Alps. That was the last known location of an infamous explorer who might have found a way to Wendell's home.

Another excellent book in this series. The fairies are scarier, leading to some horrifying creatures. Emily experiences character growth. She's still prickly but learned not to be irritable around the people she loves. She begins to show affection for Wendell, who, besides the moments of homicidal rage, is perfect with how patient he is with Emily repeatedly turning down his marriage request.

I don't want to spoil the ending, but it made me eager for the third book.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

Oh. My. God. I really loved the first Emily Wilde book for what it made me feel on a random Sunday morning, but I honestly enjoyed this one even more.
First up, let's talk about some characters as I wax poetic in multiple parts of this review about how the perspective influences everything and my undying appreciation for it. I wouldn't say there are as many relevant background characters in Map as there were Encyclopaedia, but the side characters that are important really shine. We had Professor Rose, an accusatory professor working with Emily and Wendell begrudgingly while trying to prove their lack of credibility, and Ariadne, Emily's niece and an aspiring academic hoping to assist her. Even though Emily doesn't dedicate as much attention to either of them as she does her studies (and Wendell), Fawcett still fleshes out both well. Rose is able to endear himself to the reader more than I expected, and Ariadne is understood much more by our narrator by the end of the novel. In terms of Emily and Wendell, there was much of the same in a way I loved. Emily, while acknowledging others around her more post-Scandinavian adventure, keeps her textbook reservedness and research-oriented mind. Wendell has his bouts of sloth and rage, as he did in book one, but he also has the same softer side for Emily and ambition. I didn't feel blindsided by any of their traits or actions, which is always a fear with sequels.
I think I've mostly touched on interpersonal relationships there, but I also admire how the romance in this book panned out. There was just enough to satisfy me, instantly enamored with the romantic aspect since book one, but not so much that I wouldn't recommend it to friends who like less romantic fantasy novels. The focus is, as always, the research and mystery.
For plot, I'm once again going to talk about how much I love the style of writing too. We have a clear catalyst for this piece of the arc and our journey to Austria, and by the end, there's a perfect balance of finality and actions yet to come. There is, again, more of what book one started, both in terms of the incomplete storyline about Wendell's throne and the great transitions from mystery to mystery to plot point that align well with Emily's own thoughts and priorities. One of my favorite things about this series is what a readable fantasy it is in the sense that I can space out for a moment on one page and still understand the next. It's a quality whose rarity sort of turned me away from adult fantasy this year, but I really loved how simultaneously academic and welcoming the tone of this one was.
Overall, I'd recommend this to lovers of all sorts of doorways in the fantasy genre. As a fan of epic fantasy and heist fantasies, I was never bored, and even though I don't love mysteries as much, the academic mysteries in this installment had me on the edge of my seat. I'm talking this book up so much, but I've done the exact same thing in the messages of all of my reader friends. I'm so happy I was able to get an early copy of this and physically cannot wait for book three!!!

This was a wonderful sequel to the (mis)adventures of Emily Wilde and co. set primarily in the beautiful Alps region of Austria. I really enjoy the settings Fawcett chooses that are least linked to and with fairies. The folklore of the Austrian Alps was both a fun and rightfully terrifying bunch, and it’s left my own academic heart yearning for more! 🦊

Emily’s growth in this book really shines as she learns to not only let people in (mostly Wendell), but also when to ask for help. The continuing representation of autistic coded characters, especially for women, in this book was phenomenal. It really shows how important neurodivergence representation and for that in women is. I also really love that in this story, everyone accepts Emily’s peculiarities as her being herself and not just being rude. 🧠

Wendell’s growth in this story that I also enjoyed. You can really see how his time in the human world and with Emily in particular, has changed his overall being and perspective. That and his characterization as a cat man is both giggle worthy and expected for a man like him. 🐈‍⬛

All in all, I enjoyed the cosy fantasy vibes of this book more so than the first. The ending is definitely hinting to an incredible and epic third book in the series, and a part of me really hopes that it’s partially set in Greece! 🐚

Once again, huge thank you goes to DelRey Books and NetGalley for accepting my request for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. And to Fawcett for writing yet another fantastic folklore packed Emily Wilde adventure! Can’t wait for book 3!🧚

Overall: 4.5/5 ⭐️

They say that sequels are never as good as the first ones but in the case of Emily Wilde, it’s even better if that is possible! I haven’t read fantasy for many, many years but am so glad I stumbled upon Emily Wilde. She is a great character and her relationship with Wendell is amazing. I just love all their interactions and banter. Their slow burn romance advances but with Wendell’s life in danger, certain things take priority. While Emily is desperately trying to protect Wendell, she is also trying to find the door to his kingdom. Yet with all that going on they are working on a mystery of a lost academic somewhere in the Alps.

The journal format works wonderfully and Fawcett’s writing is sublime. The book is just plain fun though there is lots of danger and intrigue. It was great to have some new characters like Emily’s niece and the department head Dr. Rose but even better was a return appearance of Poe.

I did not want Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands to end and hope we return to this wonderful world in a third book.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

When I had the opportunity to read Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries earlier this year and LOVED it, when I had the opportunity to read its sequel I jumped at the chance. After successfully publishing her encyclopedia Emily returns to Oxford only to realize that she and Wendell are in far more danger than they anticipated. Between finding a faerie door to Wendell's realm and Wendell's stepmother's attempt to assassinate Wendell, the adventure never ends. I typically don't enjoy books that are epistolary but there is something about the way Fawcett writes that sucks me in. If you enjoy magical realism you’ll enjoy this sequel. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for the advanced copy of the book.

I do love it when a sequel provides all the same ingredients but with a different flavour to it. In this return to Emily’s Journals we are reunited with some old friends and introduced to a few new ones which alter the dynamic enough to keep things fresh. Somehow the story manages to be both cozy and adventurous and I can’t wait for the next instalment! I also feel I need a whole dictated Wendell Diary lol

This was such a fun sequel to "Encyclopedia of Faeries"! I loved the first book so much and this installment just solidified my devotion. The folklore in these books remind of the types of faerie fantasies I used to pick up as a child almost 20 years ago - accept now it's for adults! The academic style to writing makes me feel as though I'm reading the true journals of a dryad professor. Wendell and Emily's relationship continues in this book and continues to keep me giggling and kicking my feet! We don't have the village relationships in this one, which I missed, however we now have two people tagging along with Emily and Wendell and the fleshing out of these friendships definitely made up for missing characters from the first book. There was a brief moment (maybe 1 - 2 chapters long) right in the middle where the book began to lose my interest, however it was very quickly over and I enjoyed the last half immensely. I will say, these are classified as cozy but there are some darker moments in these books, along with creepy creatures and scenes, so definitely keep that in mind if you're going into it expecting all rainbows and nice faeries.

4.25/5 ⭐️
0/5 🌶

This book follows Emily and Wendall after mysterious fairies begin appearing at Cambridge and disturbing their day to day life. They bring along Emily’s niece as well as their colleague much to their dismay on their next adventure.

Fawcett continues to dazzle readers with the most amazing and charming characters and while the first part of this book was rather slow, being in Emily’s mind is such a adorable place that I didn’t mind it. Similar to the first book, the ending moves very quickly and I was a bit surprised it managed to be wrapped up in time. I felt this could have been solely a duology but I will admit I love these cute adventures and enjoyed this immensely.

Many thanks to netgalley for the early eARC.

Really loved this one just as much as I loved the first! I love the format of this with the journal-style and fun little footnotes, it keeps things interesting and makes the reading experience so much more fun!

Ahhhhh this was just such a great read. I just didn't want this book to end and I was sad to turn the last page. I'm so excited to see what's next from this author.

A brilliant second instalment that brings a new dimension into play. The eloquent use of words throughout make the book a joy to read. As I read it I found myself reading it in an upper class English accent, due to the scholarly language. Having a journal format works so well connecting you to the characters. I also enjoyed the added footnotes with mini stories or bits of world-building. I adored the romance part of the plot, it was heartwarming, with some slow-burn and tension. How all the characters interact feels very human and real despite the magical elements. Overall this book is cozy, but it’s also full of fantastic faerie lore and some mild peril to keep the pace up. An easy five stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts